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Re: peace
@_lobster _
Indeed, we are each the sum of our parts. The people we encounter see only a one or a few parts. Few, if any, ever see the whole. What each sees is the real you. But, it is only part visible "above the water".
When the Spanish first entered the Pacific, it was calm, peaceful (after passing through the Straight of Magellan), hence the name, PACIFIC. Later, they found that this ocean also had a nasty temper.
We are the same. Whenever a person interacts with another, depending upon both the circumstance, the situation, prior actions or lack thereof, will see one aspect, one facet
of that other person. It is said that people tend to judge others in the first seconds of initial contact. Sometimes that initial contact yields a correct analysis of the the person, often the initial contact, like the Spanish and the Pacific, is only partial and thus erroneous, incorrect.
We are all deep pools, only the surface is what others see. As a person becomes familiar to us, we are able to see deeper, but never more than a fraction of that depth.
Everyone has a story. The story makes each and all unique.
The difficulty is to look deep enough into the pool to interact with and understand as much of another as can be understood and accepted.
Returning to the you, the me, the we...Before we can understand another, we must first understand ourselves. So many fail to probe their own depth. Those persons fail to prob beyond the surface and think they understand their pool.
We must not forget to be courageous enough to probe.
Peace to you
Peace to all
Lionduck
Re: peace
Peace is 
“You have been told that, even like a chain, you are as weak as your weakest link.This is but half the truth.You are also as strong as your strongest link.To measure you by your smallest deed is to reckon the power of the ocean by the frailty of its foam.To judge you by your failures is to cast blame upon the seasons for their inconstancy.”
― Kahlil Gibran, quote from The Prophet
lobster
Re: Being a light unto yourself
All my impediments are mined. Fortunately all The Buddhas (and others) are also Mind. We have to inflate and burst until our Bodies and Bodhi shine and our buddhas just a shoo step away...
“No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge.
The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness.
If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.”
~ Kahlil Gibran, quote from The Prophet
lobster
Re: Is it better to believe in one life or in many?
I think rebirth would work like the hydrological system here on Earth. Clouds transform into drops which fall individually and through the path of least resistance they eventually evaporate and again form clouds. It's all the same water but no individual drop ever repeats.
Re: Being a light unto yourself
I remember from transcribing a talk into text where my teacher had referred to a written teaching, the subject of the talk, as "frozen awakened mind/heart". So being frozen it's not the same as the actual mind of the author (or orator) but we get something from that mind and we try "to defrost" it I guess
Jeffrey
Re: Being a light unto yourself
I think this is one of those things that are correct only through certain lenses. As @person points out, we don't cut off the finger pointing to the moon. There is a Middle Way.
Like a teaching that teaches how to think rather than what to think, Buddhism is more like a practice as opposed to a belief system.
The First and Second Noble Truths make sense. That which lives suffers unease either through physical and mental maladies or the stress that comes with them. As we work on the Fourth Noble Truth which is the Eightfold Path, we can directly witness the Third Noble Truth which is that suffering can be transformed.
Beliefs are ok to put to the test but I try not to have faith in them. Especially my own.
Re: Being a light unto yourself
A thirteenth Century monk wrote:
_When you hold the lantern for others, you light the way for yourself.
_
Lionduck
Re: Just for fun: the random, useless announcements thread!
Yes, my wife used to spin dog hair and knit Tam o'shanters. Very warm, always smelled kind of ripe.
Fosdick
Re: What books are you reading?
@lobster said:
Curious Poses ~ Lucy GreavesTips and interesting facts about selected Asana
For example a reverse of the child pose (actually made up) but makes perfect sense
Happy Baby Pose
I've also heard of happy baby pose referred to as dead bug pose by one of the yoga instructors I follow.
person
Re: Being a light unto yourself
“The purpose of a fish trap is to catch fish, and when the fish are caught the trap is forgotten. The purpose of a rabbit snare is to catch rabbits. When the rabbits are caught, the snare is forgotten. The purpose of the word is to convey ideas. When the ideas are grasped, the words are forgotten. Where can I find a man who has forgotten words? He is the one I would like to talk to.”
― Chuang Tzu
Jeffrey